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Blake Geoffrion
| birth_place = Plantation, Florida | ntl_team = USA | draft = 56th overall | draft_year = 2006 | draft_team = Nashville Predators | career_start = 2010 | career_end = 2013 }} Blake Geoffrion (born Blake Daniel Geoffrion on February 3, 1988) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He last played with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was a second round selection of the Nashville Predators (56th overall) at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and made his NHL debut on February 26, 2011. He is the son of Dan Geoffrion, the grandson of Bernie Geoffrion and the great-grandson of Howie Morenz. Playing Career College Blake first attended the Culver Military Academy where he helped his team win the Indiana state championship in 2003. He was invited to join the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (USNTDP) where he spent two seasons between 2004 and 2006. Blake made his international debut with Team USA at the 2006 IIHF World Under-18 Championship. He scored five points in six games in the tournament for the gold medal winning Americans. From the USNTDP, Geoffrion was recruited to play with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers. He joined the Badgers in 2006–07 where he led the team in penalties with 62 minutes. He again played for Team USA, this time at the 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships where he appeared in all seven of his team's games, registering one assist as the Americans won a bronze medal. In his sophomore season, Blake improved to 30 points overall and tied for the team lead with 19 points in Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) play. Blake's teammates named him the most competitive player on the Badgers. He returned to the World Junior Hockey Championships in 2008, scoring one point in six games while the Americans failed to win a medal. Named co-captain of the Badgers in his junior season of 2008–09, Blake led his team in goals within the WCHA with 12 and tied for the lead overall at 15. His overall total of 28 points was fourth best on the team. Serving as a tri-captain, Blake led the WCHA in goal scoring in 2009-10 with 19 and was second in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) with 28. He reached the 50-goal plateau for his college career on March 13 and 100 points on February 19. Considered one of the NCAA's most complete players, he was his team's top faceoff performer and was praised for the way his play improved as his team's games grew in importance. Blake was named a first-team all-star in both the WCHA and the NCAA-West. Additionally, he was named US College Hockey Online's national player of the year. Soon after the Badgers reached the 2010 NCAA championship game, he was named the winner of the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in American college hockey. In doing so, he became the first Wisconsin player to win the award. However, Blake and the Badgers were unable to cap off their season with a championship, losing 5–0 to the Boston College Eagles before a world indoor record crowd of 37,592 at Ford Field in Detroit. Professional Following Blake's sophomore season with the Badgers, the Nashville Predators made Geoffrion their second round selection (56th overall) at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He chose to complete his college career before turning to the professional game and signed an amateur try-out contract with the Predators' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, to conclude the 2009–10. He appeared in three playoff games with the Admirals and scored two goals. The Predators signed Blake to a two-year entry-level contract on June 15, 2010. He was assigned back to Milwaukee to begin the 2010–11 AHL season where he struggled to begin the season before injuries and the promotion of other players to Nashville opened up more ice time for him. After scoring 16 points in his first 31 games of the season, Blake improved to 17 points in seven games at the end of January and beginning of February. His scoring outburst made him the first player to earn consecutive AHL player of the week since Jim Carey in 1994. As a result of his improved play, he was recalled to Nashville on February 25, 2011. After Jared Ross, he became the second player raised in the American South to participate in an NHL game. One night later, Blake made his National Hockey League debut against the Dallas Stars. He scored his first NHL goal (in his third game) against Edmonton Oilers goaltender Martin Gerber on March 1, 2011. He registered his first hat trick on March 20, 2011, against the Buffalo Sabres. On February 17, 2012, Blake was traded to the Montreal Canadiens with Robert Slaney and a 2012 second-round pick in exchange defenceman Hal Gill and a conditional fifth-round draft pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. To honour his grandfather and great-grandfather, Geoffrion chose to wear number 57 on his jersey (Bernie Geoffrion wore 5, Howie Morenz wore 7). Blake began the 2012–13 season with the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs. During a November 9, 2012 game against the Syracuse Crunch, he suffered a depressed skull fracture following a hip check by Jean-Philippe Côté. As he fell to the ice, his head struck the end of Côté's skate blade, causing the injury. Blake required emergency surgery to repair the fracture and was initially expected to make a full recovery. Career Statistics Regular season and playoffs Accolades *2009-10: All-WCHA First Team *2009-10: AHCA West First-Team All-American *2009–10: Consensus first-team All-American honors *2009–10: Consensus player of the year honors *2009–10: Hobey Baker Memorial Award (Top U.S. Collegiate Player) *2010: Nominated for ESPY Award for Best Male College Athlete Post-Playing Career Four months after his injury, Blake informed the Montreal Canadiens that he was contemplating retirement due to the injury even though he had not come to a final decision. On July 15, 2013, he eventually decided to retire from professional hockey at the age of 25. The following day, he was hired by the Columbus Blue Jackets as a pro scout. After two seasons with the Blue Jackets as a scout, Blake moved into management, being selected as the assistant general manager of Columbus' AHL affiliate team, the Lake Erie Monsters on July 19, 2016. Personal Life Upon making his debut with the Predators, Blake became the NHL's first fourth generation player. His great-grandfather (his paternal grandmother's father) was Hockey Hall of Famer Howie Morenz. Blake's paternal grandfather, Bernie "Boom-Boom" Geoffrion, is also a Hall of Famer and the man who invented the slap shot. His father, Dan played three NHL seasons with the Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets. Blake's uncle by marriage, Hartland Monahan was also an NHL player while Hartland's son, Shane was a Major League Baseball player. Blake was close to his grandfather and was the last person "Boom Boom" spoke to before his death in 2006. He wore #5 while with the Predators in his honor while his teammates have nicknamed him "Boomer" after his grandfather. He has three brothers: Nick, Sebastien and Brice. Blake majored in consumer affairs at Wisconsin and is associated with a marketing firm in Madison. He continues to learn about marketing and public relations & writes a weekly blog for Nashville newspaper, The Tennessean. In June 2012, Blake became engaged to his girlfriend Katelyn Deady. Category:1988 births Category:American ice hockey players Category:American ice hockey centres Category:Nashville Predators players Category:Montreal Canadiens players Category:Nashville Predators draft picks Category:USA Hockey National Team Development Program players